Stay-at-home moms need a postnuptial agreement

On behalf of Kennedy Law Associates posted in Family Law on Tuesday, January 17, 2017.

While a prenuptial agreement is intended to determine whether you or your partner have rights to certain assets in the event the marriage ends, the postnuptial agreement does the same but with one key difference. A postnuptial agreement is created after your marriage has already taken place, and this type of document is growing in popularity in America, particularly among stay-at-home moms. Here are key reasons why.

Women often forgo careers to raise a family

It is common for women-even fiercely driven, career-minded women-to balance the pros and cons of working outside the home with those associated with staying home to raise a family. Given the increasingly high costs of childcare in the United States, many women find that they would take home only nominal pay from a full-time job after paying someone else to watch the kids. Many women find that the payoff is, ultimately, not worth it, and they instead opt to stay home and raise their children.

Reentering the workforce after a break can prove difficult

In the event that a marriage with such an arrangement fails, however, that woman may find that she has a hard time reentering the workforce and finding gainful employment. This may prove true even if she had a high-paying job prior to leaving. Some companies are hesitant to hire anyone who has taken a long break from the workforce, and in other cases, such a break means a woman may no longer have the skills needed to perform key tasks in constantly evolving fields. A postnuptial agreement can make arrangements for you if you sacrifice your career for the betterment of the family, and it can allow for settlement money to be given to you following divorce while giving you time to establish yourself financially, without the assistance of your former partner.

Salaries often suffer

Even if you are able to find work after taking time off to raise a family, your salary may prove to be far less than what you were accustomed to. The Institute for Women's Policy Research reports that your earning potential will drop, on average, about 20 percent after one year outside the workforce. That percentage rises to 30 percent following a two or three-year break.

While neither prenuptial or postnuptial agreements are especially romantic, the fact of the matter is that many marriages do ultimately fail, and most of the people involved in those failed marriages never predicted their demise, either. If you believe a postnuptial agreement would alleviate some of your concerns, consider getting in touch with a lawyer.

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